African American Resource Center
New Orleans Public LibraryAfrican American Genealogical Research in New Orleans

Church Records

When conducting research into events that took place in a church you should first check
with the specific church where the event occurred. A list of churches in Louisiana,
Roman Catholic and other denominations, can be found in the book A Guide to Church
Records in Louisiana by Rev. Donald Hebert. Baptismal, marriage, death, funeral, and
burial records may be obtained by writing the church where the event occurred. Fees for
such records vary from church to church, usually anywhere from $2.00 to $5.00.

The pre-20th century records of the Roman Catholic Church in Louisiana have largely
been centralized in the Archdiocesan archives of South Louisiana. If the event took place
during the 18th or 19th century in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, the record may be
obtained for a fee and by writing to the Archdiocesan Archives at 1100 Chartres St., New
Orleans, LA 70116-2505. In such case, you should know the church where the event
occurred, or, if not, the address or neighborhood of the person or persons for whom you
are requesting information, and the approximate date of event.

Most Catholic Church records are closed to the general public for research (such as the
records in the Archdiocesan Archives in New Orleans), but these records can be obtained
by writing the repository or the specific church. When you write any private institution
for records you should be specific and brief in your request and include a self-addressed
stamped envelope. Always call ahead and ask what the institution charges for copies and
research.

Abstracts of most 18th and 19th century church records have been published for New
Orleans, Baton Rouge, Natchitoches, and Southwest Louisiana. Usually these published
church records are of free persons although there are thousands of sacramental records of
enslaved or free Africans and Louisianans of African descent in individual churches and
Archdiocesan archives throughout Louisiana. For sacramental records of slaves, you will
need to know as much information as possible, i.e. slave's name, owner's name,
approximate date of the event, location and or area where slave lived.